Label-attaching means.



F.AD. RETTICH. LABEL ATTAGHING MEANS. APPLIoATloN FILED Nov. 26

Patented 0011. 18, 1910.

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FRANK D. RETTICH, F CICINNATI, OHIO.

LABEL-ATTACHINGF MEANS.

Specification of Letters Patent.'

Patented Oct. 1S, 1910.

Application led November 26, 1909. Serial No. 529,889.

y To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK D. RETTICH, a citizen of the United Stat-es,and a resident of Cincinnati, I-Iamilton county, State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Label- Attaching Means;and I do declare the following to be a clear, full, and exactdescription thereof, attention being called to the accompanying drawing,with the reference characters marked thereon, which forms also a part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to improvements in label-attaching devices,meaning hand-operated devices whereby previously printed address labelsare aiiixed to mail-matter, generally news-papers, periodicals, etc.

The invention consists of certain improvements in the construction ofsuch devices whereby they are rendered more compact and durable andwhereby more effective operation is attained by convenient manipulation.

In the following specification and particularly pointed out in theclaims at the end thereof, will be found a full description of myinvention, together with its operation, parts and construction, thelatter being also illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whichFigure 1, shows the device in side-elevation and in operative positionabove mailmat-ter to be addressed. Fig. 2, shows a longitudinal sectionof the device and in a position as it appears at the end of an operativeact. Fig. 3, shows a top-view of it with parts broken away. Fig. 4,shows one of the parts used detached. Figs. 5 and 6 are views of thecutting means at the front end of the device, the first view showingthem inoperative and the other view showing them in the act of cutting.

The device consists substantially of means which support a strip orribbon which on one side carries the addresses, usually printed; ofmeans applying paste to the underside of this strip; of means to movethe strip a distance equal the width of a label and of means to cut alabel from the ribbon and of aflixing it onto the mail-matter.

9 indicates a ribbon, usually of paper, which contains, equally spaced,the addresses on its upper side. It is wound in a roll upon a mandrel 10which is supported in opposite sides 11 of the casing. This latter maybe of light wood or sheet-metal.

12 is a belt supported on rollers 13, 14, 15 and 16, which are soarranged as to cause the belt to dip into the paste receptacle 17. Thislatter is formed by two transverse walls 18 and 19, which extend betweensides 11 of the casing. The belt passes around the lower roll 13 whichis supported in the paste receptacle and in a position thereon causingthe belt to pass, when moved, through the paste. From here the belt iscarried up over the upper roll 14 thence around roll 15 at the front endof the device and back to roll 16, whereby it is guided down to enteragain the paste-receptacle. The lower roll 13 is supported in downwardlyopen bearings 21, in which it is held by the looped belt as shown inFig. 2. The upper rolls 14 and 16 are supported in upwardly openbearings formed in the upper side of two opposite arms 22, projectingfrom a rock-shaft 23, pivotally supported at its ends between sides 11Of the casing. The arms, together with this rock-shaft, form ayoke-frame which carries the two rolls in the manner shown. The framewith these rolls is held in belt-supporting position by a spring 24conveniently connected at one of its ends to the bottom 25 of the casingand at its upper end to the end of an arm 26, which extends from therock-shaft. The necessary tension is thus applied to the belt, causingalso the lower roll to maintain its position in its bearings within thepastereceptacle.

The front roll 15 is mounted upon a shaft 27 which is supported inopposite bearin s in the sides 11-11 of the casing, it exten ing beyondone of these sides to the outside where a knob 28 is provided wherebythis shaft with the roll thereon may be rotated. While this shaft is soclosely fitted to the roll as to cause, when rotated by means of knob24, roll 15 to follow, it is nevertheless removable and may be pulledlaterally out of said roll and removed from its bearings. When this isdone the belt, together with the rolls, may be lifted out from thecasing to permit cleaning, the lower roll 13 having first beensufficiently dropped and moved sidewise to disengage it from itsbearings in the paste-receptacle.

At the front-end of the casing there are two complementary cutting-jaws,one, 29 being stationary and the other 31 being movable, it beingconnected at one end by means of a pivot 32 to the end of the other jaw.

The cutting operation is a shearing cut, the

movable jaw passing from the position shown in Fig. 5, to the positionshown in Fig. 6. provided with a shank 33 which extends into an opening34, contained in a lug 35, which may be an upturned part of a lateralextension 36 of a flap 37. This flap is hinged at its rear end to theunderside of the bottom of the casing, near the rear-end thereof asshown at 38. The width of this flap except where extension 36 is formed,does not exceed the width of the bottom of the casing, so that it doesnot project beyond this casing. A spring 39, contained in a barrel 41,acts with its lower end through an opening in the bottom of the casingagainst the upper side of this flap, in a manner to hold the samenormally away,L from the bottom of the casing as shown in Fig. 1,causing thereby also the movable cutting-jaw 31 to maintain a normalposi- The upper end of i this spring bears against a screw-plug 421 tionas shown in Fig. 5.

which closes the upper end of barrel 41 and permits adjustment of thepressure of spring 39. Opening 34 does not closely surround: shank 33 ofthe movable cutting-jaw, but,

permits a spring 43 positioned to bear laterally against shank 33 toexert itself freely to compensate for wear of the cutting edges of thejaws to keep them in cutting contact.

The device is made ready for use by rotation of knob 28 sufficiently tocause a pastecovered stretch of belt to extend from roll 14 to roll 15.A stretch of label-ribbon is now unwound sufficiently to cover thispastecarrying belt-stretch upon which it is placed, extending alsobeyond the same and upon the stationary cutting-jaw as best shown inFigs. 2, 3 and 5. There is now sullicient adhesion between this ribbonand the belt by reason of the paste thereon so that, when the belt ismoved, the ribbon will move with it and unwind from mandrel 10. Thedevice is now ready for cutting and aiixing labels, for which purposethe right hand takes a hold of it at its rear end. The left hand grips ahand-hold 44 in the manner shown by dotted lines in'Fig. 3, theindex-finger resting on knob 28. This latter is given a limited rotationto move sufficient of strip 9, equivalent to the width of a label,beyond the cutting edge of the lower cutting-jaw so as to extend underthe upper jaw. Next the device, and more particularly its front end islowered, with a quick movement, from the position shown in Fig. 1, to aposition shown in Fig. 2, so as to cause the free end of flap 32 tostrike against a piece of mailmatter 45 placed below it in properposition.

This movement causes the flap to move with respect to the casing and tothe pivot which supports the movable jaw on the stationary jaw, wherebythe former is caused to move For its actuation, jaw 31 is` from theposition shown in Fig. 5, to the position shown in Fig. 6. This movementcauses severance of the projecting end of the label strip, the separatedpiece being at the same time struck down by the under-surface of themovable jaw against the mail-matter and pasted in position. The partsresume their normal positions, due to the expanding action of spring 39as soon as the device is lifted. The further manipulation of the device,consisting of raising and of lowering the same, with a manipulation ofknob 28 every time between these motions, may proceed now rapidly,mail-matter to be labeled having first been placed each time in properposition for access. The operator soon becomes used to rotate knob 28 tothe proper extent so as to cause the label-ribbon to move the properdistance equal to the width of a label.

Having described my invention, I claim as new:

l. In a label-addressing device, the combination of aA casing, means tosupport a rolled up label-ribbon therein, a pastere ceptacle within thecasing, a belt, a roller at one end thereof whereby the belt is causedto move, a roller at the other end whereby it is guided lto move throughthe paste-receptacle, intermediate guide-rollers, a springactuatedyoke-frame on which these rollers are mounted and whereby they are heldin a position to direct the movement of the belt so as to apply paste tothe label-ribbon and cutting devices to separate label-bearing portionsfrom the end thereof.

2. In a label-addressing device, the combina-tion of a casing containinglabel-ribbon support-ing means, means to move the ribbon and means toapply paste to it, a stationary cutting jaw rigidly connected to thefrontend of the casing, a spring-actuated flap of a width not exceedingthe underside of the casing hinged at its rear-end to this undersidenear its rear-end and extending to the frontend where it is laterallyenlarged on one side, the lateral enlargement being also upwardlyextendedr and provided with an opening' at the upper end of thisextension, a movable cutting-jaw pivoted to one end of the stationarycutting-jaw and a shank thereon which extends into the openingmentioned.

3. In a label-addressing device, the combination of a casing containinglabel-ribbon support-ing means and two transverse partitions between itssides which form a pastereceptacle, a stationary cutting-jaw rigidlyconnected to the front end of the casing, means to move the ribbon, abelt supported to move through the paste-receptacle, means to move thebelt and the ribbon in a manner that this latter passes over thecutting-jaw mentioned while at the Sametime paste is applied to it, aflap hingedly connected to the underside of the casing near the rear endthereof and extending to the front-end where it is also laterally andupwardly eX- tended on one side, the upward extension having anelongated opening near its upper end, a movable cutting-jaw pivoted t-oone end of the stationary cutting-jaw, a shank extending from thepivoted end of this jaw into the opening mentioned, a spring supportedon the flap-extension andin lateral engagement with the shank near itsend to maintain by this action the cutting-edges of the cutting-jaws incutting Contact, a springbarrel formed inside of the casing against themovable cutting jaw in a normally inoperative position.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

FRANK D. RETTICH.

VitneSses C. SPENGEL, Louis R. PINK.

